Transfer of liquefied gas



March 30, 1937. J. a. sHoLEs v2 0 1 TRANSFER OF LIQUEEIED, GAS I FiledSept. 17, 19:55 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 REF IGERATMG MACHINE March 30, 1937--J. G. sHoLES I TRANSFER OF LIQUEFIED GAS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Aw 3 mm HFiled Sept. 1'7, 1935 INVENTOIR BY v vvr-w xmi- I ATTORNEYS PatentedMar. 30, 1937 PATENT OFFICE TRANSFER or momma!) GAS Justin Grant Sholes,Cleveland, Ohio, assignor to The Ohio Chemical and Manufacturing Com-.pany, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application September 17,1935, Serial No. 40,887

12 Claims.

This invention relates to the transfer of liquefied gas from onecontainer to another, for example from a bulk container to others ofsmaller size for delivery to users, and its chief object is 5 to providea method and apparatus for effecting such transfer in a rapid andconvenient manner, with a minimum loss of gas and particularly with theleast possible evaporation of the gas from the 20 particularly duringthe major part of the transfer operation, nor re-liquefying arrangementsand devices. At the same time, especially where the invention isemployed in packaging the liquefied gas for purposes of sale or likedistribution, provision can be made for accurate measurement of thequantity of gas so packaged, forexample, where it is sought to fill eachcontainer with a predetermined weight of the liquefied gas.

Although the invention may be carried out in a number of ways, so as toachieve, in each instance, many or all of the foregoing objects and suchadditional objects and-advantages as will be hereinafter apparent, it isbelieved that the apparatus and methodof the invention, particularly intheir presently preferred forms, will be best illustrated by thefollowing description of a specific embodiment of them.

The drawings therefore show, by way of example, a suitable apparatus,constructed in accordance with the invention, and adapted fortransferring liquefied gas from one or more bulk containers to a smallercontainer or conveniently to a large group of such smaller containers.Apparatus of the specific character show'n has been found highlysatisfactory for use in effecting such a transfer of liquefied nitrousoxide. In fact, the invention, although applicable to many other uses,is of special value in handling liquefied gases of that order,particularly gases having physical characteristics generally similar tonitrous oxide; for convenience and by way of example, it will be assumedin the following description that liquefied nitrous oxide is thespecific material to 55 be handled and transferred.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of the apparatus, generally in perspective,with certain portions broken away to showfeatures of internalconstruction as will be noted;

' Fig. 2 is a plan view of the cooling tank, with I the cover removed;and

Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the cooling tank, on lines 3-3 of Fig.2. q

The apparatus shown is particularly adapted, among other purposes, fortransferring liquefied gas from large bulk containers or cylinders III,to smaller containers or -cylinders l|,--the cylindersfias they arecalled in the industry, being of well-known construction in eachinstance. A manufacturer of liquefied gas, for example, may package hisproduct in large'cylinders Ill, for convenient storage or Wholesaledistribution, or the like, but it is often necessary "at a later time totransfer the liquefied gas to smaller cylinders ii, for delivery to theultimate user, and with the present invention, this transfer can beachieved economically and rapidly, and without requiring any unusualknowledge or skill on the part of theoperator. In the case of onemanufacturing plant where the invention has been so used fortransferringliquefied nitrous oxide, a large cylinder l customarilycontains from 50 to 60 lbs. by weight of the liquefied gas, whereas asmall cylinder ll usually holds from 3 to '7 lbs. Of course, thecapacity of the-cylinders or other containers from which liquefied gasis to be transferred, and of those which are to be filled with it, aswell as the quantity of gas actually handled in any transfer operation,may vary widely, even with the specific apparatus here shown. 7

Referring to Fig. 1, a manifold, I2 is provided for receiving theliquefied gas from a plurality of large cylinders l0, through acorresponding plurality of inlets l3 (a convenient number, six, beinghere shown). Each inlet valve l4, for controlling or shutting off thefiow of gas through the inlet to the manifold l2 (without, of course,affecting the manifold itself, or the passage of gas through it, forexample, from another inlet), andeach inlet also includes a pipe l,provided at its outer extremity with 'a yoke l3 includes a it ofstandard and well-known construction, for

70 the arrangement of the supporting tubes 33 and the manifolds 35 and36 is such that when a.

' l 9 to show this style of valve construction, whereby the liquefiedgas can leave the cylinder only through the siphon tube 18, being forcedout by the naturally high gas pressure above the liquid in the cylinder.Particularly efficient drainage of the liquefied gas is afforded by thisexpeditious arrangement for withdrawing it from the bottom of thecylinder. Of course, where the siphon construction is not employed, theinlet w yokes l6 and cylinders l0 can be inverted, so

that the cylinders are above the manifold and drain down into it; thesiphon tube arrangement, however, is generally preferable for itsconven- 0 ience and practicability.

' be filled with liquefied gas. These cylinder-holdand areconvenientlyso disposed that their bot- The manifold I2 is closed at its "left-handend in Fig. l, and opens at its other end into a distributing head 20,through which the liquid gas may fiow into two separate pipes 2|, 22,respectively controlled by valves 23, 24. r A high pressure gauge 25,for'recording the gas pressure of the contents of the manifold l2 andconnected parts of the system, is conveniently mounted in the manifoldl2 intermediate the inlets l3 and the head 20. a

Pipe 22 extends into the cooling tank generally designated 26 through asuitable valve 21, conveniently described as the main transfer valve.Pipe 2| also extendsinto the cooling tank 26 through a valve 28,likewise mounted on the cooling tank and called, for convenience, thetopping supply valve.

Referring now to Figs. 2 and 3, as well as Fig. 1, the cooling tank 26comprises an inner tank 29 having heat-insulating walls 30, and

has a hinged cover 3| of like insulated construc- 'tion, which may betightly closed to preserve the refrigeration effected in the tank.Carried by a plate32 in the'upper part of tank 29 and opening throughsuitably conforming apertures in that plate, as shown, a plurality ofhollow metal- 110 tubes 33 are provided in each' of which there may beinserted one of the small cylinders II to ing; tubes 33 are closed attheir lower ends against access of liquid contained in the tank 29,

toms are a substantial distance above the bottom of the tank 29. In someinstances, additional supports 34 for the bottoms of thecylinder-receiving tubes 33 may be used, preferably two) to'each ofwhich a distributing manifold 36. is removably attached. Each of theseremovable manifolds 36 has a plurality of outlet tubes 31, which may beflexible copper tubes, and each of which, in turn, is provided with ayoke of standard construction for removably connecting it to thevalve-head of a'small cylinder I I, as will now be understood. It willbe appreciated that 'number of small cylinders II are respectively plate32, for ready attachment and connection of the yoke of thecorresponding. flexible outlet tube 31 extending from the nearestmanifold 36. In this way, with the yokes attached to the valve heads ofthe small cylinders, an unobstructed conduit for liquefied gas isprovided from pipe 22 to all of the small cylinders ll, assuming, ofcourse, that valve 21 is open, and that each of the individual valves onthe small cylinders are likewise open.

In the present embodiment, the cooling tank is provided with sixteen ofthe supporting tubes 33, for receiving a corresponding number of smallcylinders; and the removable manifolds are disposedas shown, with fouroutlets spaced 'along either side of each, affording satisfactorydistribution to each of the small cylinders II. The number of supportingtubes 33 may of course be varied in accordance with requirements. and

corresponding changes effected in the arrange of the tank, convenientlyas shown, to a suitable refrigerating unit, which may comprise the usualcompressor 39, condenser 40, fan 4| and motor 42 (for operating the fanand compressor), and

the usual thermostatic control 43; as this refrigerating unit may beofany standard construction, it is only diagrammatically shown in thedrawings. For example, in using the apparatus for' transferringliquefied nitrous, oxide, satisfactory results were obtained with acooling coil 38 comprising a 200 foot coil of '7 mm. by 9 mm. coppertubing, connected (as shown) to a 75-lb. capacity ice machine of thestandard make known by the trade name Kelvinator. In that case it wasfound that a non-freezing liquid placed in the tank 29, for circulationaround the tubing 38 and supporting tubes 33, was cooled to plus 13 F.,.and that the air in the tubes 33, and the small cylinders placed inthem, were cooled toplus 25 F.

An additional coil of tubing 44is similarly disposed in the spaceintermediate the tubes 33 and the walls of tank 29, adjacent butpreferably outside the refrigerating coil 38. The coil 44 mayadvantageously be made of tubing smaller in size than that in the coil'38, but with more convolutions about the interior of the tank. One endof the tubing 44 is connected through the topping supply valve 28 topipe 2i and the other end is connected through a large valve 45, calledthe operating valve, to a pipe 46.

The space in the tank 29 below the plate 32, around the coils 38 and 44,and around and under the supporting tubes 33 and each of them, is filledwith a non-freezing liquid or solution, such as brine, or a solutionofcalcium chloride, or

glycerine; that is, a solution which will not freeze at the lowtemperatures attained by the refrigerating coil 38. The refrigeratingaction of coil 38. is thus transmitted through the non-freezing solutionor bath 41, to cool the supporting tubes 33, the cylinders I I insertedin them, and tubing 44; effective refrigeration is provided for theentire contents of tank 26. I

Pipe 46 extends through a suitable valve 48 to a yoke 49, similar tothose on outlets 31 and adapted for connection with one of the smallcylinders ll. This yoke 49 comprises part of a filling standwhich alsoincludes a weighing device, such as the platform scale Ell upon which acylinder ll rests, as shown in Fig. 1. It will be understood that thearrangement is such that a cylinder ll may be weighed on the scale,either standing alone, or as connected to the pipe 46 through yoke 49.

It will also be noted that valves (includingthe individual valves of allcylinders Ill, ll are provided throughout the system on each side ofpoints where removable connections are made.

and at each end of every appreciably extensive section of manifold, pipeor tubing; in effecting transferring operations, every valve ispreferably kept closed at all times, except when actual flow must bepermitted through it. The arrangement and operation of valves in thismanner is of distinct advantage in reducing loss of gas, or evaporationof gas from the liquefied state, during the manipulation of theapparatus and also during replacement or removal of parts of theapparatus,-for example, during connection or disconnection of cylindersIll and H at various points, or connection of manifolds 36, or while oneor more units of the system are changed, as they may readily be, forothers of different character to accomplish different kinds of work.

As a specific example of the method of the inteen small cylinders, suchas cylinders II, with liquefied. nitrous oxide, that each of them holds,

when full, 3 lbs. 12 oz. of the liquefied gas, that the transfer is tobe made from large cylinders ill which contain 50 lbs. of liquefiednitrousoxide apiece, and that apparatus of the type shown in thedrawingsis to be used for the procedure. All valves in the system areclosed, and after the empty small cylinders have been suitably insertedin the supporting tubes 33 of the tank 26, the yokes of outlets 3'! aresecurely attached to the valveheads of the cylinders, and the removablemanifolds 36 are in turn connected to manifold 35, as will now beunderstood. Six of the full large-sized cylinders l0 are connectedrespectively to the six inlet yokes iii of manifold l2.

With main transfer valve 21 closed, the in-. dividual small cylindervalves are now opened, and the cover 3| of the cooling tank 26 istightly closed. until the temperature inside, as read upon a thermometer(not shown) which may extend through the cover into the air spaceabovethe cylinders, has dropped to a steady and preferably predeterminedfigure,--say, 25 to 30 F. where liquefied nitrous oxide,.or a likeliquefied gas, is to be handled. During this time, all valves on themanifold I2, and elsewhere in the system should be closed.

The large cylinders to will be hereinafter identified by the Romannumeral characters (i. e. from I to VI) shown on the drawings.

the corresponding inlet are opened, and the gauge 25 now registers thepressure of gas in cylinder I. Valve 24 is then opened, and the operatorcracks, i. e., opens very slightly, the main transfervalve 21. This lastoperation permits the liquefied gas from cylinder I to flow into thesmall cylinders II in the cooling tank, without setting up too large anaccumulation of unliquefled gas (by immediate evaporation) and with- Thecooling tank is allowed to stand- The valve ll of cylinder I and thevalve l4 of i out causing freezing of the gas (and consequent clogging)anywhere in the part of the system now open, by reason of suddenexpansion through valve 21 into the small cylinders. rush of liquid gascan now be plainly heard by the operator, and when it is no longerheard, he opens valve 21 wide and permits the apparatus to stand in thiscondition for a considerable period of time, such as about 12 hours,. oruntil the air temperature in the top of the cooling tank has againreached 25 to 30 F. and cylinder I has again attained room temperature.Valves l1 and I4 are thereupon closed for cylinder I.

Under the specific conditions hereinabove stated for this example, thereshould now be from 4 to 6 lbs. of liquefied nitrous oxide remaining incylinder I, and from 44 to 46 lbs. of the liquid gas deposited in all ofthe small cylinders H taken together. .For economical results with thistype of apparatus, the small cylinders should be preferably about 75 tofilled at this stage of the operation. If there is not enough. gas incylinder I to fill the small cylinders to this extent, cylinder II maybe opened (at its valves i l and I1) after cylinder I has been shut off,and following gas may be allowed to flow from cylinder II into the smallcylinders, and cylinder II may then be shut oif. On the other hand, ifcylinder I contains more than enough gas to fill thesmall cylinders toabout of their proper capacity,

care should preferably be taken to close the valves of cylinder I beforethe small cylinders have been more than 85% filled. Any possibility ofoverfilling the small cylinders, occasioned by the low temperature towhich they are subjected in tank 26, can be readily. avoided with simpleand moderate care on the part of the operator. For example, readings ofgauge 25 will give a rough indication of the quantity of gas in thelarge cylinder l0 which is in use at a given time,not only at thebeginning of operations, but also, if valve 24 is temporarily closed, atany subsequent stage.

In fact, the actual weight of gasin each of the large cylinders at thestart will usually be known, and the arrangement shown is such that anyone of them can be easily removed for re-weighing at any time. In fact,a modicum of experience will enable the average operator to control thetransferas'accurately asdesired, without any intermediateweight-checking at all. The suggested safety limit of about 85% or less,for the initial filling step may vary somewhat with conditions, but foreconomy, and particularly for accuracy of filling each cylinder, anunderfilling of this order is advisable at this stage in the pro- Itwill be remembered that valves 2-3, 28, 45, and 48 have been closedduring theforegoing steps. Valves 24 and 21 are now closed (as well asall 'inlet valves for the large cylindersiso as to prevent wasting gasin line 22, as already'explained.

If cylinder II has not as yet been used, its valve H and corresponding.inlet valve l4 are now opened; if considerable gas has been removed fromcylinder II it may be advisable to use cylinder III instead, at thispoint. Valves 23 and 28 are also now opened, valves 45 and 48 remainingclosed, and the coil 44 in the refrigerating bath is always bekeptclosed, to conserve refrigeration) all of the individual smallcylinder valves are closed and the removable manifolds 36 taken out. Oneof the small cylinders is also taken out and placed on the scale 50 ofthe filling stand. As-

suming that the gross weight which the small cylinder will have whenultimately filled is known,

the weight of the smallcylinder (and its present" contents) just placedon the scale is now read and '15 stand valve 48 are opened. The weightof the cylinder as it now stands, with the yoke and valve attached, isnoted; as will now be understood, additional liquefied gas must beintroduced in the cylinder to increase this present reading of thescale.by the difference previously obtained, 1. e., by the amount of gasneeded to complete the filling.

The operating valve 45 is thereupon opened and is kept open untilsuilicient liquefied gas has fiowed into the small cylinder, while itstands on the scale, to bring it up to the desired weight, as justdetermined. The operating valve 45, valve 48 and the small cylindervalve are then closed, and the filling stand yoke 49 is removed from thecylinder. The weight of the small cylinder and its contents, as now readon the scale, should be identical with the predetermined gross weightfor a completely filled cylinder.

The same operations are repeated for each of the other small cylindersremaining in the cooling tank until all of them have been completelyfilled. After this topping step has been performed on the last of thegroup, and valves 45 and 48 have been closed for such final operation,the topping supply valve 28 is closed, and likewise valve 23 and thevalves l1 and ll of the large cylinder (presumably cylinder II) used forthe topping operation. It will now be appreciated that in the specificexample here described (where the small 5 cylinders require 3 lbs. 12oz. of liquefied gas apiece, or a total of 60 lbs., for filling) about14 to 17 lbs. of gas will have been required from the large cylinder foractual toppin in addition to that needed to fill the coil 44. I 50 Ifthe procedure is to be repeated the cooling tank may be refilled with anadditional group of sixteen empty small cylinders, the removablemanifolds connected and replaced and the entire operation carried out inthe same way. In

. 55 the first or main filling stage (as distinguished from the toppingoperation), cylinder I may again be opened at the outset. Assuming thatit had left from the previous operation about 4 to 6 lbs. of gas andthatthe capacity of the small 60 cylinders is as previously stated,opening of the valves in the lines I2, 22, 35, and 31 should reduce thequantity of gas in cylinder I to about 2 to 3 lbs. after pressure isequalized between cylinder I and the small cylinders; the difference 65has thus been transferred to the small cylinders. To continue fillingthe latter in this stage of the operation as far as possible, saytoabout 80%, 'one or more of the other large cylinders must be opened.For example, the remainder of the 70 gas in cylinder II (left from theprevious topping operation) may now be transferred to the smallcylinders, to leave a residue of about 4 lbs. of liquid gas in thislarge cylinder II, upon equalization of pressure; and additional gas maybe 75 taken from cylinder III, as needed. The topping be left in it ofabout 2 lbs.

operation, for which cylinder III is again put to use, then follows inthe manner described above, and the second set of small cylinders isthus completely filled.

For a third lot of small cylinders, cylinder I is again used at theoutset, and equalization of pressure after opening the valves to thesmall cylinders in the cooling tank should leave about one pound of, gasin'this large cylinder. Cylinder II which, it will be remembered, nowcontains about 4 lbs. of gas, is also used, and a residue may then Otherlarge cylinders are used in succession, as needed to fill the group ofsmall cylinders to the requisite extent, and the topping operation iscarried out as before.

I On a fourth lot of small cylinders, cylinder I is opened for the lasttime, as in this operation the amount of gas remaining in it should bereduced to much less than one pound. When cylinder II is in turn openedfor this transfer operation, its gas content may be reduced to about onepound, and corresponding reductions may be made in other cylinders insuccession. Cylinder I can now be removed from the manifold I2 andrefilled, or a full cylinder substituted for it. In other words, by thusdischarging cylinder I into four lots of small cylinders in succession,the gas remaining in it has been reduced to a convenient minimum;justifying refilling. On the succeeding, i. e., fifth lot of smallcylinders, large cylinder II will reach the same condition and may beremoved for refilling or for substitution of a full cylinder. Thiscycle, it will now be seen, repeats itself'for each of the largecylinders in turn so that each of them becomes ready for refilling orreplacement after it has been used for enough principal transferoperations, or topping operations, or both, to deplete it to whatevermay be the predetermined minimum,--in the example chosen, less than onepound of liquefied gas.

In these respects the process is continuous and cyclical, and it willnow be understood that preferably a sufficient number of large cylindersare employed so that there will be no actual interruption of operationfor refilling or substitution. That is, in the example just given, sixlarge cylinders are connected to the manifold, and in general, in any ofa series of transfer operations to small cylinders of the assumedcapacity,

there will never be more than two or three of the large cylinders fullydepleted in immediate succession. Actual gas transfer can always proceedfrom one or more other cylinders of the set of six while the depletedunits are being replaced, and at no time is there any interruption ofeither the principal filling operation or the topping operation at all.

It should now be appreciated that the procedure and apparatus of theinvention areboth expeditious and economical, not only in attaining arelatively rapid transfer to a large number of small cylinders with a.minimum loss of liquefied gas, but also in achieving high accuracy infilling each of the small containers with a predetermined quantity ofthe gas. Flexibility and ease of operation are also inherent advantagesof the described arrangements; for example, in order to fill a group ofless than sixteen cylinders with the specific apparatus shown, it isonly necessary to insert blank valves in the unattached yokes of theremovable manifolds 36. As explained, the operations are cyclical innature when repeated for successive groups of receiving containers, andare adapted to effect an expeditious transfer of liquefied gas fromoneplurality of containers to another plurality of containers withoutinterruption for refilling or replacing the constituent units of thegroup of containers from which the transfer is made.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specificprocedure and apparatus hereinabove described and shown, but may becarried out in other ways without departure from its spirit as definedby the following claims. I claim? 1. A method of transferring liquefiedgas from one container to another, comprising partially filling thesecond container by causing liquefied gas to flow from the firstcontainer directly into said second container, cooling said secondcontainer during said flow of liquefied gas-and thereafter completingthe desired filling of said second container without cooling the same,by passing additional gas into said second container and cooling saidadditional gas during itspassage to maintain it in liquefied form.

2. A method of transferring a predetermined quantity of liquefied 'gasto a'container, comprising passingliquefied gas, in less than thepredetermined quantity, into said container, cooiing said containerduring said passage-of gas thereinto. liquefied gas into said containerwhile weighing the latter and while cooling said additional gas while enroute to the container to maintain the gas in liquefied form, andcontrolling said addi-' tional passage of gas in accordance with theweight of the container and its contents.

3. A method of transferring a predetermined I amount of liquefied gas toa receiving container therefor, comprising; establishing a direct linebetween a supply container'of liquefied gas to a cooledreceiving-container and thereby causing liquefied gas to fiow directlyfrom the supply 40 container, and in quantity less than the prede-'termined amount, to the receiving container while cooling the latter tomaintainthe received gas in liquefied form, and thereafter completingthe desired filling of the receiving container without cooling thelatter, by causing additional gas containers in which the gas is to bereceived,

causing the gas to flow directly to said cooled receiving containersfrom the original containers thereof and in quantity about 15% to 25%less than desired in the receiving containers, maintaining the latter incooled condition during said flow, thereafter completing transfer toeach of the receiving containers, without cooling them, by causingadditional liquefied nitrous oxide gas to fio'w directly thereto fromthe original con- 5 tainers and cooling said additional liquefied gas toabout 25 to 30 F.'during said flow.

5. A method of transferring liquefied gas from one container to areceiving container, comprise ing cooling the receiving container,causing the liquefied gas to flow from the first container directly intothe receiving container by siphoning liquefied gas from the firstcontainer under the pressure of the evaporated gas confined above theliquefied gas in said first container, while maintaining the receivingcontainer in cooled and thereafter passing additional condition duringsaid fiow of liquefied gas into it, to keep the introduced gas inliquefied condition, and controlling said fiow of liquefied gas toprevent complete filling of the receiving container therewith.

6. In a method of transferring of liquefied gas between containerstherefor, wherein a receiving container has been. partially filled withliquefied gas, the procedure of completing the filling of said receivingcontainer with a predetermined amount of liquefied gas, comprisingcausing additional gas to pass directly to said container from a supplycontainer of liquefied gas,-while cooling said additional gas during itsflow to maintain it in liquid form and while weighing said receiv: ingcontainer to determine that the predetermined amount of gas has beentransferred there- 7. Apparatus for transferring liquefied gas betweencontainers therefor, comprising means for selectively receivingliquefied gas from a plurality of containers containing the same,'meansfor Y conducting the'liquefied gas from said first mentionedmeans to arefrigerated container, refrigeluted-conduit means. through whichliquefied go's canalso be conducted from the receiving means, means forconnecting said last mentioned conduit means to a container fortransferring gasfrem said conduit means into the container, and meansfor selectively controlling the fiow of liquefied gas from the receivingmeans into thefirst mentioned conducting me'ans or therefrigeratedconduit means.

8. Apparatus for transferring liquefied gas to receiving containerstherefor, comprising means for containing a supply of liquefied gas,means for conducting the liquefied gas from said first mentioned meansto a refrigerated receiving container, refrigerated'conduit meansthrough which liquefied gas 'can also be conducted from the firstmentioned means, means for connecting said refrigerated conduit means toa receiving container for transferringgas from said conduit means intothe container, and means for weighing the receiving container while itis connected by said connecting means to said refrigerated conduitmeans.

9. Apparatus for transferring liquefied gas to *containers therefor,comprising a. transfer line for conducting liquefied gas to a container,means for supporting said container while receiving gas from saidtransfer line, a second transfer line for conducting liquefied gas to acontainer, and common means for simultaneously cooling both the firstmentioned container while it is supported by the supporting means, andthe liquefied gas passing through the second mentioned transfer line.

10. In apparatus for transferring liquefied'gas and in position to becooled bythe cooling bath,

refrigerating means for maintaining the cooling bath at a predeterminedlow temperature, means for conducting liquefied gas to the containersretained in the supporting means, and supplementary gas-handling meansdisposed in the cooling bath in the tank for cooling liquefied gas re- 5ceived by said supplementary means.

12. Apparatus for transferring liquefied gas from cylinders thereof toreceiving cylinders therefor and for minimizing loss of gas during suchtransfer, comprising manifold means for '10 receiving liquefied gas froma plurality of the 15 for removably supporting a plurality of receivingcylinders for cooling action thereon by said cooling means, means forconducting liquefied gas from the output of the manifold means to saidreceiving cylinders while supported ,by said supporting means. valvemeans for controlling passage of liquefied gas from said conductingmeans to the receiving cylinders, means including a cooling coildisposed for cooling action thereon by the cooling means, for receivingand I cooling liquefied gas from the output of the manifold means, valvemeans for controlling fiow of liquefied gas into and out of said coolingcoil, valve means for controlling output of liquefied gas from saidmanifold means to the conducting means and to'the cooling coil, meansfor weighing a receiving cylinder, means for conducting liquefied gasfrom said cooling coil to a receiving cylinder while it is being weighedby the weighing means, and valve means for controlling fiow of liquefiedgas from the last-mentioned conducting means to said last-mentionedreceiving cylinder. v JUSTIN GRANT SHOLES.

